I used to think that Heat was just a wasted hour of TV on Sunday nights. And I never cared about Excess when they debuted it a while back. But during the past few weeks, the shows are coming into their own. The Niche belts(Raw's Hardcore, Smackdown's Cruiserweight) are being defended on the second tier shows. Some would say that's a step down for the belts and champs who hold them, but I disagree. They're champions, and should defend against all comers. Velocity is being used for the cruisers, and debuting new wrestlers that haven't been on the big show(no, I'm not talking about Mr. Wight) yet. Guys like Shannon Moore, who absolutely blew me away when he debuted. Or Rob Conway's debut against Randy Orton where he faked an injury. It was also nice to see Hugh Morrus again last week. And what about Nick Dinsmore? If he's as good as everyone in the Indy scene has said he is, he may be the next Benoit. And while the Raw brand doesn't have as many "new" talents per se, they've definitely got some underutilized ones. Justin Credible, Crash, Richards, Dreamer, Raven...guys who never quite got that push they needed, but still rock when they're in the ring. Bravo to whoever is booking these shows(both of them), because they're definitely cranking out quality programming. It's not "can't miss" stuff, unless you like seeing wrestlers debut that you've never heard of, but if you happen to catch it, you'll be pleasantly surprised.
The Honky Tonk Man, just to see him finally make good on all those names on his "ass-whupping" list he was making out when he still had his site up and running. There, I feel better now.